WEARING A CAT ON OUR HEADS (COMPLETED)

It's All Greek To Us

Hestamma.

What was all that crap I just heard?

Instead of being upset, gue lebih ke nggak percaya aja dengan apa yang Laras bilang tadi di depan saudara perempuannya.

Gue barusan dengar kalau dia menawarkan Ajeng supaya tidur dengan gue? Begging in the same way she did to me? Dia bahkan dengan percaya dirinya mau memberi tips supaya Ajeng bisa tidur dengan gue?

That was the worst joke I'd ever heard in my entire life.

"What exactly is the significance of certification in this context? I mean, how can others judge other people's abilities based on their certificates? I've never met such a terrible person!"

Celotehan Noah di samping gue, semakin memperburuk suasana hati gue. Gue sempat melihat John yang menggelengkan kepala, sementara gue membuang pandangan setelah membuang asap dari rokok yang gue hisap.

"What difficulty did you cause this time? with the newcomer? What is his full name?" Derek yang baru saja ikut bergabung dengan kami di smoking room menimpali dengan rautnya yang terlihat penasaran.

Noah cuma mendengkus, "He made fun of me since he knew I hadn't taken the FSA, which he had already done."

They are truly childish...

"He also made light of Hestamma."

Huh? Gue?

Kedua alis gue terangkat, menatap John dan Derek yang ternyata sama-sama mengarahkan tatapannya ke gue. "I'd had ASA and FSA for a long time before I started working on QuickGuide."

Isn't there nothing wrong with being childish like them?

Sayangnya, respons yang gue terima nggak se-menyenangkan itu karena John, Derek, dan Noah malah memberikan tatapan datarnya ke gue.

Lah, memang salah gue ada di mana?

"Why do you have to bring up his name?" John berdecak di sela isapan rokoknya, membuat gue mendengkus sambil mengisap rokok gue sendiri. "Hestamma, on the other hand, could look after himself. Have you forgotten who he is?"

Noah langsung menatap gue lagi, sebelum kepalanya mengangguk-angguk pasrah.

"Maybe this breaks your heart, but I agree with what the new staff said." Lebih baik gue menanggapi ucapan Noah daripada gue kepikiran hal-hal lain yang malah bikin kepala gue pusing. "Certification is really crucial where we work. Not everyone considers certification to be a reference, although some do," ucap gue, menarik perhatian Noah, John, dan Derek sampai ketiganya menghadapkan tubuh mereka menghadap ke arah gue. "Consider taking your FSA if you have the opportunity and the time. This is only advice from a senior who knows considerably more about the outside world than you do."

Tidak langsung menanggapi, Noah sempat terdiam beberapa saat sebelum akhirnya kepalanya mengangguk-angguk. "I think having an ASA is enough for now because I know how long it takes to get that kind of certification many times, let alone getting to the stage you are at now," katanya diimbuhi decakan di akhir kalimatnya.

Gue nggak bisa menyalahkan Noah juga karena dia bisa punya pemikiran semacam itu. Everyone does not have the same set of targets and ideas. Mungkin, gue harus bersyukur karena tinggal dan besar di lingkungan di mana gue selalu punya tujuan lain setiap gue selesai menyelesaikan target yang gue punya sebelumnya.

Kalau mau diingat-ingat lagi, sejak mengenal Algis, Katon, Jatmika, Narendra, dan Hatalla, gue—atau lebih tepatnya kami—menggunakan patokan satu sama lain untuk mengukur keberhasilan kami—baik itu di segi pendidikan maupun karir—this may come back to bite others because we did well.